Lamentations 2

Lamentations 2American Standard Version (ASV)

2 How hath the Lord covered the daughter of Zion with a cloud in his anger!He hath cast down from heaven unto the earth the beauty of Israel,And hath not remembered his footstool in the day of his anger.2 The Lord hath swallowed up all the habitations of Jacob, and hath not pitied:He hath thrown down in his wrath the strongholds of the daughter of Judah;He hath brought them down to the ground; he hath profaned the kingdom and the princes thereof.3 He hath cut off in fierce anger [a]all the horn of Israel;He hath drawn back his right hand from before the enemy:And he hath burned up Jacob like a flaming fire, which devoureth round about.4 He hath bent his bow like an enemy, he hath stood with his right hand as an adversary,And hath slain all that were pleasant to the eye:[b]In the tent of the daughter of Zion he hath poured out his wrath like fire.5 The Lord is become as an enemy, he hath swallowed up Israel;He hath swallowed up all her palaces, he hath destroyed his strongholds;And he hath multiplied in the daughter of Judah mourning and lamentation.6 And he hath violently taken away his [c]tabernacle, as if it were of a garden; he hath destroyed his place of assembly:Jehovah hath caused [d]solemn assembly and sabbath to be forgotten in Zion,And hath despised in the indignation of his anger the king and the priest.7 The Lord hath cast off his altar, he hath abhorred his sanctuary;He hath given up into the hand of the enemy the walls of her palaces:They have made a noise in the house of Jehovah, as in the day of a solemn assembly.8 Jehovah hath purposed to destroy the wall of the daughter of Zion;He hath stretched out the line, he hath not withdrawn his hand from [e]destroying;And he hath made the rampart and wall to lament; they languish together.9 Her gates are sunk into the ground; he hath destroyed and broken her bars:Her king and her princes are among the nations where the law is not;Yea, her prophets find no vision from Jehovah.10 The elders of the daughter of Zion sit upon the ground, they keep silence;They have cast up dust upon their heads; they have girded themselves with sackcloth:The virgins of Jerusalem hang down their heads to the ground.

11 Mine eyes do fail with tears, my heart is troubled;My liver is poured upon the earth, because of the [f]destruction of the daughter of my people,Because the young children and the sucklings swoon in the streets of the city.12 They say to their mothers, Where is grain and wine?When they swoon as the wounded in the streets of the city,When their soul is poured out into their mothers’ bosom.13 What shall I [g]testify unto thee? what shall I liken to thee, O daughter of Jerusalem?What shall I compare to thee, that I may comfort thee, O virgin daughter of Zion?For thy breach is great like the sea: who can heal thee?14 Thy prophets have seen for thee false and foolish visions;And they have not uncovered thine iniquity, to bring back thy captivity,But have seen for thee false [h]oracles and [i]causes of banishment.15 All that pass by clap their hands at thee;They hiss and wag their head at the daughter of Jerusalem, saying,Is this the city that men called The perfection of beauty, The joy of the whole earth?16 All thine enemies have opened their mouth wide against thee;They hiss and gnash the teeth; they say, We have swallowed her up;Certainly this is the day that we looked for; we have found, we have seen it.17 Jehovah hath done that which he purposed; he hath [j]fulfilled his word that he commanded in the days of old;He hath thrown down, and hath not pitied:And he hath caused the enemy to rejoice over thee; he hath exalted the horn of thine adversaries.18 Their heart cried unto the Lord:O wall of the daughter of Zion, let tears run down like a river day and night;Give thyself no respite; let not the apple of thine eye cease.19 Arise, cry out in the night, at the beginning of the watches;Pour out thy heart like water before the face of the Lord:Lift up thy hands toward him for the life of thy young children, that faint for hunger at the head of every street.

20 See, O Jehovah, and behold to whom thou hast done thus!Shall the women eat their fruit, the children that are dandled in the hands?Shall the priest and the prophet be slain in the sanctuary of the Lord?21 The youth and the old man lie on the ground in the streets;My virgins and my young men are fallen by the sword:Thou hast slain them in the day of thine anger; thou hast slaughtered, and not pitied.22 Thou hast called, as in the day of a solemn assembly, my terrors on every side;And there was none that escaped or remained in the day of Jehovah’s anger:Those that I have dandled and brought up hath mine enemy consumed.

Lamentations 2New International Version (NIV)

2 [a]How the Lord has covered Daughter Zionwith the cloud of his anger[b]!He has hurled down the splendor of Israelfrom heaven to earth;he has not remembered his footstoolin the day of his anger.

2 Without pity the Lord has swallowed upall the dwellings of Jacob;in his wrath he has torn downthe strongholds of Daughter Judah.He has brought her kingdom and its princesdown to the ground in dishonor.

3 In fierce anger he has cut offevery horn[c][d] of Israel.He has withdrawn his right handat the approach of the enemy.He has burned in Jacob like a flaming firethat consumes everything around it.

4 Like an enemy he has strung his bow;his right hand is ready.Like a foe he has slainall who were pleasing to the eye;he has poured out his wrath like fireon the tent of Daughter Zion.

5 The Lord is like an enemy;he has swallowed up Israel.He has swallowed up all her palacesand destroyed her strongholds.He has multiplied mourning and lamentationfor Daughter Judah.

6 He has laid waste his dwelling like a garden;he has destroyed his place of meeting.The Lord has made Zion forgether appointed festivals and her Sabbaths;in his fierce anger he has spurnedboth king and priest.

7 The Lord has rejected his altarand abandoned his sanctuary.He has given the walls of her palacesinto the hands of the enemy;they have raised a shout in the house of the Lordas on the day of an appointed festival.

8 The Lord determined to tear downthe wall around Daughter Zion.He stretched out a measuring lineand did not withhold his hand from destroying.He made ramparts and walls lament;together they wasted away.

9 Her gates have sunk into the ground;their bars he has broken and destroyed.Her king and her princes are exiled among the nations,the law is no more,and her prophets no longer findvisions from the Lord.

10 The elders of Daughter Zionsit on the ground in silence;they have sprinkled dust on their headsand put on sackcloth.The young women of Jerusalemhave bowed their heads to the ground.

11 My eyes fail from weeping,I am in torment within;my heart is poured out on the groundbecause my people are destroyed,because children and infants faintin the streets of the city.

12 They say to their mothers,“Where is bread and wine?”as they faint like the woundedin the streets of the city,as their lives ebb awayin their mothers’ arms.

13 What can I say for you?With what can I compare you,Daughter Jerusalem?To what can I liken you,that I may comfort you,Virgin Daughter Zion?Your wound is as deep as the sea.Who can heal you?

14 The visions of your prophetswere false and worthless;they did not expose your sinto ward off your captivity.The prophecies they gave youwere false and misleading.

15 All who pass your wayclap their hands at you;they scoff and shake their headsat Daughter Jerusalem:“Is this the city that was calledthe perfection of beauty,the joy of the whole earth?”

16 All your enemies open their mouthswide against you;they scoff and gnash their teethand say, “We have swallowed her up.This is the day we have waited for;we have lived to see it.”

17 The Lord has done what he planned;he has fulfilled his word,which he decreed long ago.He has overthrown you without pity,he has let the enemy gloat over you,he has exalted the horn[e] of your foes.

18 The hearts of the peoplecry out to the Lord.You walls of Daughter Zion,let your tears flow like a riverday and night;give yourself no relief,your eyes no rest.

19 Arise, cry out in the night,as the watches of the night begin;pour out your heart like waterin the presence of the Lord.Lift up your hands to himfor the lives of your children,who faint from hungerat every street corner.

20 “Look, Lord, and consider:Whom have you ever treated like this?Should women eat their offspring,the children they have cared for?Should priest and prophet be killedin the sanctuary of the Lord?

21 “Young and old lie togetherin the dust of the streets;my young men and young womenhave fallen by the sword.You have slain them in the day of your anger;you have slaughtered them without pity.

22 “As you summon to a feast day,so you summoned against me terrors on every side.In the day of the Lord’s angerno one escaped or survived;those I cared for and rearedmy enemy has destroyed.”

Footnotes:

Lamentations 2:1This chapter is an acrostic poem, the verses of which begin with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet.

Lamentations 2:1Or How the Lord in his anger / has treated Daughter Zion with contempt

Share

Step 1 - Create an account or log in to start your free trial.

Starting your free trial of Bible Gateway Plus is easy. You’re already logged in with your Bible Gateway account. The next step is to enter your payment information. Your credit card won’t be charged until the trial period is over. You can cancel anytime during the trial period.

Already Subscribed

Upgrade to the best value in online Bible study

For the best Bible Gateway experience, consider an upgrade to Bible Gateway Plus. For less than the cost of a latte each month, you'll get reduced banner ads and a huge digital Bible study library. Try it free for 30 days!